Fish Oil for Postpartum Depression: Safe While Breastfeeding

One of the greatest tragedies of postpartum depression is that women often find themselves unable to breastfeed if their doctors prescribe strong antidepressants or if they take natural supplements that have not yet been studied in lactating mothers. Fortunately for breastfeeding mothers with postpartum depression, fish oil supplements have been demonstrated to not only benefit depression sufferers, but also infants who receive omega-3 enriched milk from their mothers.

Fish oil has been so widely studied in recent times that it's hard to pick up a health-related newspaper without seeing yet another revelation of fish oil's miraculous healing abilities. Packed with omega-3 fats DHA and EPA, the building blocks of the human brain, fish oil is highly recommended for women who are pregnant or nursing.

Babies who get more fish oil prenatally or through breastmilk have higher IQs and fewer learning disorders, and at least one major clinical study has shown that premature babies whose mothers take fish oil supplements are significantly less likely to develop mental retardation or cognitive delays. Many nutritionists even go so far as to state that omega-3 fats are the primary source of differences in human intelligence.

The amazing effect of fish oil on brain health is inclusive of new mothers as well as their babies. Deficiency in EPA, one of the omega-3 fats found in fish oil, is considered by many nutritionists to be a causative factor in antenatal and postpartum depression. Breastfeeding mothers who take fish oil are likely to find relief from postpartum depression, and they're likely to give their babies' brains a boost as well.

Fish oil is one of the only natural treatments for postpartum depression that is not only safe for breastfeeding mothers, but also quite safe for women who are taking SSRI-class antidepressants like Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac. Unlike Sam-e, 5-HTP, and Saint John's wort, all of which have been linked to the potentially fatal condition serotonin syndrome, fish oil will not cause an overproduction of serotonin. It is unique among natural antidepressants in that doctors generally consider it to be safe alongside conventional antidepressants.

One of the few risks associated with fish oil is that it may sometimes contain heavy metal contaminants, which are not safe for anyone-- especially women who are breastfeeding young children. When selecting a natural treatment for postpartum depression, choose one that is labeled "molecularly distilled" and that is not sourced from tuna. These cleaner, purer forms of fish oil have almost no risk of heavy metal contamination.

As always, talk to your doctor before making any change to your treatment plan. It is extremely dangerous and counter-productive to self-treat postpartum depression or to change your medications without your doctor's knowledge. Only a qualified medical practitioner is capable of making a balanced decision about whether or not fish oil is the right natural treatment for you.